One of seven gold-plated crystal chandeliers inside the mosque, this one suspended from the main dome. This is a different image from the one below (but the same chandelier), but a bit closer. I just had to post it because I thought it was so gorgeous!
The Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque can accommodate up to 40,000 worshippers, has four minarets, more than 80 domes and 1,000 pillars holding it all up. The interior has elements from Turkey, Morocco and the Taj Mahal exhibited in marble, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics. It hosts the world’s largest Persian carpet, which took 2.000 artisans two years to complete and seven gold-plated crystal chandeliers. (Summary from Lonely Planet’s “Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula”)
The chandelier in context:
